Demonstration garment



, Feb. 1 0, 1970 J. B- ARMSTRONG DEMONSTRATION GARMENT 2 SheetsSheet 1Filed NOV. 14. 1966 INVENTOR. JEAN B. ARMSTRONG ATTORNEYS Feb. 10, 1970'J. B. ARMSTRONG DEMONSTRATION GARMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 14.1966 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS m W, M,

United States Patent DEMONSTRATION GARMENT Jean B. Armstrong, New York,N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to American Can Company, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Nov. 14, 1966, Ser. No. 594,101Int. Cl. A41d 1/22, 27/00 U.S. Cl. 274 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This invention relates to a demonstration garment madeavailable by a store Selling garment patterns so that the homeseamstress may effectively try on the garment so that she may determinewhether the style is to her liking before purchasing a pattern andfabric from which she will make the garment. The garment includessuflicient front panels and pieces so that the front of thedemonstration garment has substantially the same appearance as thecompleted garment which it simulates while the back of the garment issubstantially fully open but provided with means for hooking same aboutthe body of the wearer when the garment is tried on. The hooking meansat the rear of the garment are arranged to permit the garment to betried on by customers whose sizes vary widely while permitting thegarment to hang and fall in a manner realistically approaching the fitof a completed garment of the proper size.

This invention relates generally to a demonstration garment and moreparticularly to a demonstration ladys garment for use in conjunctionwith the promotion and sale of garment patterns and especially dresspatterns.

Home sewing is an ever increasing avocation of the housewife and manywomen make a great proportion of the apparel which they and the membersof their families wear. Most garments are fabricated using a purchasedpattern available at the local sewing or fabric center. The number ofstyles available in pattern form is almost limitless and each style isavailable in patterns of various sizes. Pattern manufacturers usuallyput out pictorial catalogues showing the various styles available andthe home sewer makes the selection from photographs or drawings of thestyle depicted.

Most home sewers also purchase some of their garments ready-to-wear inretail shops and the manner of purchase is quite distinct as regards thepattern purchase. In a ready-to-wear establishment, the prospectivecustomer will usually try on the garment and thus she is quickly able todetermine in advance whether the particular style is as attractive onher as it is on the hanger. Quite to the contrary, when selecting apattern the customer has heretofore had to satisfy herself with thepicture of the style appearing in the catalogue or on the patternpackage and then attempt to imagine how the garment will look on her inher size.

While a substantial volume of patterns and garment fabric is sold eachyear, the inability of the purchaser to get a general idea of how thegarment will look on her has always been a major drawback. Due to thelarge number of styles and sizes available, it has been impracticable tohave in the pattern store made up samples of the various styles invarious sizes for the home seamstress to try on.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a garmentwhich can be tried on by a customer within a large size range and whichcan give the customer a general idea of how the style of the particulargarment will look on her.

Another object of the invention is to provide a garice,

ment which may be inexpensively fabricated for use as a demonstrationgarment for substantially any preselected style.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby a customercan judge a garment which she contemplates making from a patternselected as to style and size.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part beobvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

Generally speaking, in accordance with the invention, a garment isfabricated having a front panel or panels which simulate the completedgarment or dress and having in the rear a halter arrangement designed toallow the garment to be temporarily worn by women of various sizes withadjusting means being provided so that the wearer can, in the mirror,get a relatively accurate picture of how the garment of the particularstyle will look on her. In this manner, more satisfactory means areprovided to permit the customer to determine whether or not she wishesto purchase the pattern of that style in her size.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope ofthe invention will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference is had to thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a sleeveless demonstration garmentconstructed in accordance with the instant invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view looking in the direction of arrows 3-3 of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial rear elevational view of a demonstration garmenthaving a sleeve;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a demonstration garment simulating atwo-piece dress or a dress with a jacket;

' and FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

In constructing the demonstration garment of the instant invention, twogenerally conflicting criteria are to be borne in mind. Firstly, thefront View of the garment should appear as close as possible to a fullyfabricated garment, the size of which appears close to the size of anyparticular wearer. Secondly, the garment must be able to be tried on bya plurality of women of widely varying sizes and shapes.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown the front panel 11 of a garment of aparticular style. The style will be identical to the style of acorresponding pattern which is available in various sizes. The styleshown in FIG. 1, by way of example, has what is known as a bib frontindicated at 12 with a plurality of buttons 13 and a notched collar 14.The garment is sleeveless and armholes 15 are larger than normal to beable to accommodate various sizes. A belt 20 may. be provided stitchedto the side seams of front panel 11. Otherwise, the garment isconstructed and looks identical to the front panel of the garment if itwere made into a completed garment.

The critical features of construction of the garment appear in the FIG.2 view, the criticality resulting-in imparting to the garment a naturalappearance when worn while being capable of being worn by wearers ofvarious sizes and shapes.

Left and right vertical strips 16 and 17 are secured to front panel 11along respective side seams 18. The width of the vertical strips 16 and17 is sufficient to impart a back to the garment at each side seam inorder that the demonstration garment may more closely take the shape ofan actual garment. An armhole strip 19 follows the general contour ofeach armhole 15 and is secured at one end to the shoulder or upper edgeof front panel 11 and at the other end to the respective vertical strip16 or 17. Note that the upper edge of front panel 11 preferably extendsbeyond the normal shoulder seam to impart a shoulder to the garment. Thearmhole strip with the respective armhole of the front panel defines anarmhole of relatively large size in order to accommodate the range ofsizes for which the demonstration garment is designed.

The garment is held on the wearer by an adjustable harness which willnow be described. Extending from each armhole strip is an upper strap 21with the two upper straps extending toward each other. Extending fromthe outer edge of each upper strap is a lower strap 22 which connects,at its lower end, to the respective vertical strip 16 or 17. A pluralityof hooks 23 are provided on one of upper straps 21 and eyes 24 on aconfronting face of the other of straps 21 to provide a releasable andadjustable connection for the garment. Upper straps 21 connect to thearmhole strips slightly below the midpoint of the armhole strips andlower straps 22 connect to the vertical strips 16 and 17 at about Waistlevel. The length and angle of the upper and lower straps is selected sothat the harness hooks together at approximately the bustline wherebythe partial garment is caused to hang properly on the wearer whileimparting sufiicient tension at various points to give the garment arealistic fit.

The configuration and placement of the harness straps is critical alsoin order for the demonstration garment to be capable of fitting avariety of sizes. By providing for a relatively proper fit at thebustline, the garment can drape and need not take into account thevarying sizes and locations of wearers waists, which vary to asubstantially greater extent than do bustline dimensions.

Fitment across the neck line is provided if the garment has a collar. Inthe particular embodiment shown, the garment has a collar 14 whichextends around the rear of the garment as best shown in FIG. 3 and isprovided with a plurality of hooks 25 and eyes 26 in order to providefor adjustment in a relatively wide range.

Since the demonstration garment is designed, in all respects, to havethe appearance of a completed garment When viewed from the front, thegarment will be made up in a typical fabric and may be lined if desired.In any event, it is desirable that upper and lower straps 21 and 22 beelasticized to provide a degree of expansion to provide a broader rangeof harness adjustment. Any suitable means can be provided forelasticizing the straps with a typical construction being shown in FIG.4 wherein a relatively wide elastic band 31 is within a tube formed byfabric 32 and lining 33 with the ends of the elastic band being securedat the ends of the straps and with the fabric and lining material beinglonger than the elastic band to permit stretching of the band.Elasticizing garments for stretchability is a well known expedient andfurther description thereof is deemed unnecessary.

It may also be desirable to have the length of the garment adjustableand to this end there is shown several rows of snaps 34 sewn to theinside of front panel 11 and, if desired, vertical strips 16 and 17 withthe snaps in the lowermost row adapted to mate with the snaps in theupper rows to permit the garment to be releasably held in variousshortened positions.

Thus, with a garment of the foregoing construction, a garment of aparticular style may be used to actually show the prospective purchaserof a pattern approximately how the garment will look when made up andthus the prospective purchaser need not rely merely on her imaginationafter seeing a picture of the style. The purchaser can, in effect, tryon the garment as she would when buying a ready-to-wear garment.

The invention hereinabove described has been done so in conjunction withthe showing of a sleeveless dress. It will, however, be understood thatthe invention is adapted for use with substantially any type of garmentas Will be clear from the representative types and styles hereafterdescribed.

Referring to FIG. 5, a portion of a demonstration garment with a shortraglan sleeve is shown. The demonstration garment consists of the frontpanel, vertical strips, armhole strips, upper straps and lower straps asheretofore described with the addition of a sleeve panel 41 whose lengthwould be short, medium or long depending on the style. The sleeve panelwould continue around to the rear and be held in a relatively tubularshape by a length of elastic 42. Note that the armhole strip for araglan sleeve would be connected at the terminus of the sleeve panel.The demonstration garment would be tried on in the same manner asheretofore described with the additional sleeve structure shownsimulating the actual sleeve of any particular style.

While the example of the sleeve shown in FIG. 5 is a raglan sleeve, itwill be understood that a set-in sleeve could also be used if called forby the particular style and in such event armhole strip 19 would besecured to the front panel as shown in FIG. 2 and the sleeve having aconstruction similar to FIG. 5 with the length of elastic 42 would beset in at the armhole. If desired, more than one length of elastic 42may be provided.

A demonstration garment of still another style is shown in FIGS. 6 and7. The garment construction of FIGS. 6 and 7 would be used for atwo-piece dress as well as a dress with a jacket. For a two-piece dress,front panel 11 would consist of a skirt panel 43 and a bodice panel 44,with the skirt and bodice panels seamed together at 45 to make a frontpanel similar to that shown in FIG. 2. The vertical strips, armholestrips and upper and lower straps would be the same as previouslydescribed. The top of the two-piece dress would be in the form of a toppanel 46 hanging loosely as shown in FIG. 7 and stitched to the bodicealong top seams 47, armhole seams 48 and side seams 18. With theforegoing construction, the demonstration garment would be a single unitwhile simulating a two-piece dress.

The construction of FIGS. 6 and 7 would also be used for fabricating ademonstration garment of the style of a dress with a jacket. For thedress with jacket, front panel 11 would be a single piece similar to thefront panel of FIG. 2 rather than the skirt panel 43 and bodice panel 44seamed at 45. The jacket panel would replace top panel 46 and would bestitched to the front panel in a fashion similar to the stitching of toppanel 46. The jacket panel would be provided with the usual jacketopening down the front of the jacket panel.

For both the two-piece dress and dress with jacket, the demonstrationgarment would be supported from the shoulders and secured across thebustline by the rear harness with the top panel 46 or jacket panelhanging loosely to thereby simulate a garment of these styles.Naturally, if the style calls for short or long raglan or setin sleeves,the sleeve panels would be provided as described above in connectionwith FIG. 5.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that a demonstrationgarment can be constructed in a wide variety of styles with the criticalfeatures residing in the provision of the armhole strips and the harnessof proper construction in order to provide a sufficiently proper fit forthe garment, regardless of the womans size, so that realistic appraisalof the appearance of the style may be made by the prospective customerbefore purchasing the pattern of the correct size and the material fromwhich the garment will be made.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efiiciently attained and,since certain changes may be made in the above construction withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intendedthat all matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. In a demonstration type garment as a new article of commerce thecombination comprising a front panel constructed to have the appearanceof any preselected style, means defining left and right arm holessecured to said front panel, said armhole defining means being locatedat the back of said garment, harness means secured to said armholedefining means and said front panel and extending across the back ofsaid garment, and means cooperating with said harness means forrendering said harness means adjustable.

2. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said front panel includesmeans on said front panel defining front arm hole portions, said meansdefining left and right armholes located at the back of said garmentcooperating with said means on said front panel to define the armholesof said garment.

3. A garment as claimed in claim 1 wherein said harness means includes aleft harness portion and a right harness portion, each of said harnessportions including an upper strap having a fixed end secured to saidarmhole defining means and a free end and a lower strap having a fixedend secured to said front panel and a free end, said free ends of eachof said upper and lower straps being secured to one another, and saidadjustable cooperating means including releasable means on said left andright harness portions being adapted to be releasably secured to oneanother at said free ends thereof.

4. A garment as claimed in claim 3 wherein said releasable meansincludes fasteners at the free ends of said left and said right harnessportions for adjustably and releasably fastening together said left andsaid right harness portions.

5. A garment as claimed in claim 3 and including elastic meanscooperating with each of said upper and lower straps for rendering saidstraps stretchable.

6. A garment as claimed in claim 1 and including means at the lower endof said front panel for rendering adjustable the length of said frontpanel.

7. A garment as claimed in claim 1 including left and right verticalstrips extending the length of said front panel from the lower edgethereof to said left and said right armhole means, said vertical stripsbeing respectively secured to the left and right side edges of saidfront panel, said left and right armhole means and said harness meansbeing secured to said vertical strips.

8. A garment as claimed in claim 3 wherein said left and right harnessportions are adjustably secured to one another through said releasablemeans at the bustline of said garment.

9. A garment as claimed in claim 8 wherein each of said upper straps issecured to an associated armhole defining means at substantially thecenter thereof and each of said lower straps is secured to said frontpanel substantially at the waist line of said garment.

10. A garment as claimed in claim 1 and including a sleeve panel securedto said front panel at each side thereof and at least one length ofelastic secured transversely across each of said sleeve panels.

11. A garment as claimed in claim 1 and including a top panel securedover said front panel, top seams, armhole seams and side seams securingsaid panels together, the lower edge of said top panel being loose andunsecured with respect to said front panel.

12. A garment as claimed in claim 11 wherein said front panel includes askirt panel and a bodice panel, said skirt and bodice panels beingjoined along a transverse seam, said top panel extending over andcovering said transverse seam.

13. A garment as claimed in claim 1 including a neckband secured to saidfront panel at the neck line thereof, said neckband extending around therear of said garment and terminating in ends, and means cooperating withsaid ends of said neckband and rendering said neckband adjustable.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 431,332 7/1890 Chadwick 248445,548 2/1891 Filkins 248 890,456 6/ 1908 Roller 2-48 945,345 1/1910Richards 25 1 1,933,185 10/1933 Rouleau 252 XR 3,230,545 1/1966 Galley274 FOREIGN PATENTS 415,662 8/1934 Great Britain.

H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 33-15

